For the first time since the Eagles trade for the No. 2 pick, the selection of Carson Wentz and all of the other hoopla in between, Sam Bradford stepped to the podium at NovaCare Complex to give his side of the story.
"I think when I first found out about the trade, I was frustrated," Bradford said. "I just felt like I needed some time. I could have stayed here, continued to work here, but I'm not sure my head really would have been here those two weeks."
Bradford had signed a two-year deal to return to the Eagles in March. That didn't stop Howie Roseman and the Eagles from making an "aggressive move," as Bradford called it, to get Wentz in the Draft and set up their future at quarterback.
Bradford put in a trade request, but ultimately returned to workouts last week when a path to a trade was no longer visible. Bradford also acknowledged that his teammates played a role in the decision as well.
"It's one of those things after time and after thought, I realized that this is still the best place for me to be," Bradford said. "There's a lot of guys in that locker room that I really care about and I know they care about me. The two weeks that I was away made me realize how much I missed being around them and being on the field with those guys. Knowing they had my back and knowing how much support they had for me made me realize this is still the right place for me."
That still doesn't save Bradford from the storm just yet. Philadelphia fans were generally angered by the quarterback behavior surrounding the move. Bradford understands the feelings of the Philly fans.
"I get it. They have every right to be frustrated," Bradford said. "I think the only thing I can do going forward is to continue to get better, to go out there on Sundays, play good football, win football games and hopefully win them back. I don't think there's anything I can say. It's all about my actions and what I do going forward."
It still doesn't excuse what Bradford did. After signing the two-year deal, and setting in his mind what would be a plan to establish a longer future in Philadelphia, Bradford and his agent Tom Condon decided another location may be best to put that plan in motion.
"Obviously there are no promises in this business. It wasn't a long-term deal, it was a two-year deal. I was well aware of that," Bradford said. "My goal was to play well for the next two years and create that stability that I've talked about my whole career. Philadelphia is the place I wanted to be, I wanted to play well for the next two years, create that stability, and then sign a long-term deal and stay here for the rest of my career.
"My agent felt like, at the time, trying to get somewhere to get that stability with the goal of being there long-term was the best option. After those two weeks, we realized this is the best place for me to be."
Bradford also noted that the trade request was Condon's idea and that Bradford had actually stayed for workouts for two days after finding out about the trade.
So what's next for the quarterback that Doug Pederson has, at least for now, dubbed the starter? For now, it's an appreciation to just get back on the field with his status on the team still intact.
"It means a lot knowing that, even after the past couple of weeks, I can step back in this building and continue to be the leader and the starting quarterback," Bradford said. "That being said, I still feel like I have to prove that I'm worthy of being the starting quarterback when Cleveland comes around."
Earlier on Tuesday, when Pederson spoke about the quarterbacks on his roster, he noted the similarities to 1999 when he was the starting quarterback and Donovan McNabb was the high-profiled draft pick coming in. With the similar situations playing out for the Eagles between 1999 and 2016, Bradford intends to use his new head coach as a resource.
"Just knowing that coach Pederson has my back as well and knowing he's a resource for me," Bradford said, "knowing he has experience, knowing he can give me first-hand advice, I'm not sure there's really anyone else that could do that for me."
As for the on-the-field performance, Bradford is approaching it like a competition and taking things game-by-game and week-by-week. Bradford said he's always viewed the starting job as a competition, particularly when OTAs get underway, and doesn't plan to do anything differently or look over his shoulder, as Pederson advised.
"My approach now is week-to-week. It's always been like that," Bradford said. "The competition is what it is. I think if I continue to play at a high level each week on the field, if we continue to win games, I think that I will be the starting quarterback and I will be out there. That being said, I'm not completely naive. If the organization made a move to get up to No. 2, at some point it's probably not going to be my team. But until it's not, I'm going to continue to lead these guys the way I did last year and do my job to the best of my ability."
Bradford also has to serve as a mentor for Wentz and while the idea that the Eagles aggressive move may leave him with a lot of questions in the future, the six-year veteran isn't going to hold anything from Wentz and his development.
"I'm not going to try to hide anything. I'm going to try to help Carson," Bradford said. "If he has questions, I'm going to give him the best answers that I can. I understand what it's like to be in his position. When I came in as a rookie, I had A.J. Feeley and he was great. He took me under his wing. He was really great about it and taught me a lot. I love seeing quarterbacks succeed in this league and if I can do something to help him become a better player, I'm going to do it."
You can watch all of Bradford's press conference below.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
